YMMV / Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie

• Awesome Music:
  • The soundtrack of this film is quite memorable, if only because a lot of the songs are impossible to get out of your head.
  • The rendition of "Go Go Power Rangers" that was recorded for this film. It has the epic feeling one would expect and truly drives home that the Power Rangers have made it to the big screen.
  • "Dreams" by Van Halen. While not recorded specifically for this film, it is still a triumphant tune that fits the happy mood of the epilogue.
  • "The Great Power" and "Zordon Is Saved" are also appropriately powerful scores.
• Complete Monster: Ivan Ooze is a bombastically evil enemy of Zordon, who once "ruled the world with a reign of unparalleled terror". Awoken in the present day by Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa in order to help defeat the Power Rangers, Ooze uses a group of monsters to distract the Rangers so he's able to destroy the Command Center and leave Zordon to slowly die. Double-crossing Zedd and Rita and taking over their operations, Ivan intends on digging up the Ectomorphicons to help branch out his ambitions of conquest to a universal scale. After giving some of his Ooze to children so that he can brainwash the adults so he can force them to dig up the Ecto-Morphicons for him, Ivan then sends a group of monsters to destroy the Rangers when they try to get their powers back—killing them when they fail. Ivan Ooze eventually orders all of the adults to commit suicide when he no longer needs them and orders the Ectomorphicons to devastate Angel Grove. When one of his Ecto-Morphicons is destroyed by the Rangers, Ooze forcibly takes over the other to try and kill the Rangers himself.
• Critical Dissonance: The film was generally thrashed by critics but fans of the series tend to receive and remember it fondly. Among many things, it embodies the general fun of the series while having entirely original footage.
• Evil Is Cool: Come on, admit it, if World of Ham were an actual planet, Ivan Ooze would rule it. He's the most awesome evil guy in the franchise.
• Fan-Preferred Cut Content:
  • Scenes were planned of Dulcea training the Rangers to be able to get the great power. This would have added some actual reason for them to not immediately head off to try for it. Steve Cardenas even called it his favourite scene in the movie.
  • A large majority of the fan base would have liked to see the original line-up - Jason, Zack, and Trini - starring in the film. They were planned to, and the movie was even used as an ultimatum to keep them from leaving the show.
• Fight Scene Failure:
  • In the first fight with Ivan Ooze's Mooks, Aisha's moves are very obviously covering for the fact that Karan Ashley was a dancer rather than martial artist; including obviously stumbling backwards after throwing a front kick. Notably, once Aisha has morphed and therefore played by a stunt woman, her technique becomes much more polished.
  • In the same scene, Kimberly pushes the Tengu Warriors away rather awkwardly; again demonstrating that Amy Jo Johnson was a gymnast rather than martial artist. They cover for this by having her do a backflip to dodge one and then deliver a kick allowing them to change the angle. She too becomes more polished at technique once she's morphed and played by a stuntwoman.
• Ham and Cheese: Paul Freeman takes a page from Raúl Juliá's book, and delivers a magnificently hammy performance as Ivan Ooze.
• Harsher in Hindsight:
  • Zordon dies and is resurrected in the movie. His counterpart in the show's canon wasn't so lucky.
  • Likewise, the Command Center being repaired after being destroyed by Ivan also has this feeling as it was destroyed for good in the show.
  • This dialogue from Billy becomes depressingly prescient when he is unable to become the Gold Ranger in Power Rangers Zeo.
    Billy: You know the funny thing about morphin? You don’t appreciate it 'til you can’t do it anymore.
    • Even worse, the above line is said by Billy to Rocky, who in Zeo would become the Blue Ranger, Billy's original color.
• Heartwarming Moments:
  • You gotta admit, the little exchange between Dulcea and Adam when he's feeling a little embarrassed about his spirit animal is just adorable. Cheesy enough to put on nachos, but adorable.
    Dulcea: Adam...? Adam, what's wrong?
    Adam: I'm a Frog.
    Dulcea: (giggles) Yes, a frog. Like the one you kiss, (kisses him on the forehead) to get a handsome prince.
  • Even better, Adam's disappointment is Johnny Yong Bosch's own genuine sentiment, but later in life, especially appearing in this educational video about the whole frogs-as-ninja motif, his opinion about it has greatly improved. It helps that the titular character from the folktale discussed in the video that cemented the motif in Japanese culture was indeed a prince (albeit an exiled one) who could summon or even turn into a frog, and who was Happily Married to a beautiful princess, also an exile.
  • The ending where everyone celebrates with a victory party and fireworks, a large sign is lit saying "Thank You, Power Rangers", which the Rangers in their civilian identities can see. All while "Dreams" by Van Halen plays as the credits roll.
• Hilarious in Hindsight:
  • The Kid Hero imagining himself as a Silver Ranger - no, a Gold Ranger; There was neither a Silver Ranger nor a Gold Ranger in either Power Rangers or Super Sentai at the time this film was made, but since then, both metallic colors have become staple colors for Sixth Rangers. It gets even funnier after Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger, where the Sixth Ranger is Silver but has a Gold powerup mode, and once (when Power Copying) couldn't decide between Go-On Gold or Silver (also known as RPM Gold and Silver) and so chose both, creating a suit that's half of each.
  • A young kid wanting to be a Power Ranger. To say nothing of the show going long enough that the cast has included several actors and actresses who grew up watching the show when they were kids as time has gone on.
  • In Power Rangers Mystic Force, Madison kisses a frog, and it turns into Daggeron.
  • When Disney bought the Power Rangers franchise from Saban in 2001, the sale didn't include the rights to this film and Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie, both of which Fox held onto even after Disney sold the franchise back to (the newly-revived) Saban in 2010. In March 2019, Disney acquired Fox's entertainment assets, once again giving Disney two pieces of Power Rangers history.
  • Many, including Adam himself, would cite the frog as a source of mockery for not being as badass as the other five Rangers' animals. Nowadays, with general knowledge of the famous Japanese folktale Jiraiya Goketsu Monogatari and its clear influence on shows like Naruto and Pokémon having prominent ninja that are being explicitly frog-themed, suddenly, Adam actually has the most badass animal of the six due to being the most thematically accurate to being a ninja.
  • In another one connected to frogs. When Adam expresses disappointment over getting a frog as a Zord, Dulcea cheers him up by invoking the tale of The Frog Prince. Disney, who at one point owned Power Rangers, later produced their own take on The Frog Prince tale. Interestingly, the entire reason Adam even has a frog motif is ultimately due to an actual frog prince, or at least the Japanese equivalent of one, but with a different manner of his association with frogs.
  • In the movie's climax, Bulk and Skull give a false account of how they saved the Power Rangers and then get pissed when the Rangers still get the appreciation for saving the day. Four seasons later, Bulk and Skull would be instrumental in beating the bad guys while none of the Rangers in this movie were present at all.
  • The Yellow Ranger disposes of the villain by using the Megazord to knee him in the groin (while getting cheered on by Rita and Zedd). Twenty-two years later, in the live-action reboot, the Yellow Ranger does something similar to Rita herself - this time slapping her out into space.
• Just Here for Godzilla: Some just watch for the fight scenes, which are generally agreed to be the best part of the movie.
• LGBT Fanbase: The movie apparently had quite a gay following, and for awhile was shown frequently in gay bars after its initial release. Perhaps the sleeveless muscular male Rangers (Rocky, Billy and Adam) had something to do with it.
• Love to Hate: IVAN OOZE. Despite having absolutely no redeeming qualities and an utter prick to his enemies, he's bound to make you laugh at some point in the movie. Being played by Paul Freeman certainly helps, and there are several reports of parents who otherwise hated the film but loved and still remember Ivan Ooze to this day.
• Memetic Mutation: Adam's line when he receives his ninja powers, "I'm a frog."
• Moral Event Horizon: If attacking the Command Center and almost killing Zordon wasn't enough for him, Ivan Ooze sending the parents to commit suicide via brainwashing was definitely the moment he went beyond the pale.
• Narm:
  • After the skydiving scene, Tommy ends about three sentences with the word "man" in less than two minutes.
  • The battle between unmorphed Rangers and the Oozemen...with cheesy in-fight taunts, cartoonish sounds effects, and...some flatulence sounds if the Oozemen is hit.
  • Kimberly and Billy backflipping simultaneously to get away from the mooks...with Billy's "right behind you Kimberly" dubbed in for some obvious Vocal Dissonance.
  • Amy Jo Johnson's terrible delivery of "Zordon, you can't leave us". Was that really the best take?
• Narm Charm:
  • Rita and Zedd, of all people, chanting "Go go, Power Rangers!" It's ridiculous, but also hilarious and satisfying to fans of the series that had watched countless episodes of the two being absolutely consumed with hate for the heroes.
  • "You haven't seen a morphological being around here" is delivered in a way that Amy Jo Johnson knows it's a goofy line and is embracing the fact.
  • The above-mentioned bad puns fight scene can still work out of sheer Rule of Cool (all actors are obviously doing their own stunts, and all pull off some impressive moves).
  • Aisha defeats Ivan Ooze by using the Megazord to perform a Groin Attack. It should be ridiculous but it's the most appropriate way to dispose of him. And there's even an emergency button just for that!
• Never Live It Down: Poor Kimberly is often accused of Chickification for two scenes in which she ends up in trouble - getting carried away by a Tengu warrior and cornered by a dinosaur skeleton. Both times she's left screaming for Tommy, which can leave a bad taste in fans' mouths. She kicks ass plenty of other times in the film, and without her powers is just a gymnast with no martial arts training, so it's plausible that she would need help. In fact, when she gets carried off by a Tengu warrior, she's caught off guard because she'd just fought off another and she even tries to free herself defiantly.
• No Problem with Licensed Games: The Sega Genesis and SNES Beat 'em Up games were well-received - even though the latter's only connection to the movie is having Ivan Ooze as the final boss.
• Retroactive Recognition: Fred Kelman's actor would later go on to play a young John Crichton.
• The Scrappy: Fred isn't too well liked for his Mouthy Kid persona, and the fact that he's a movie-exclusive character who takes screen time away from the Rangers.
• Signature Scene: The skydiving scene set to "Higher Ground" is probably the most remembered part of the film.
• So Okay, It's Average: One could view it as just an extended episode of Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers or just another standard martial arts action film that just so happens to be part of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers continuity (or not). Either way, it's in no way a terrible movie, but there's nothing that makes it stand apart from the series or typical martial arts movies. At least it's enough to please fans and the young at heart.
• Special Effects Failure: While much higher in terms of production values than the show it was based on, $15 million can only go so far when it comes to quality effects.
  • One example that didn't even make it into the film were the rat costumes; though they'd eventually find a home on the TV series when film shooting took longer than expected.
  • Unlike in the series, Tommy keeps Saba in hyperspace instead of latched to his belt. This results in an obvious Jump Cut when he pulls Saba to finish off the Oozemen (Although not too jarring, as this is where the rest of the Rangers keep their personal weapons in the series).
  • The film used CGI for the Ninjazords because they didn't want to use the original props or costumes for the film — and boy do the CGI ones look bad, even by 1994-95 standards. They're a poor match for the correct designs, as well. The Ninja Megazord in particular looks like it's made of liquid.
    • The Ninja Mega Falconzord is the biggest offender, being based not off the full-sized toy but a smaller special edition with the wolf's head uncovered and the cover for the Ape hand being able to hold a sword (a large version of one of the Ape's Ninja-to, but the artists interpreted it as the Shogun Megazord's Fire Saber. Ouch.) Finally, they botched the head.
    • There's also the scene where Ivan launches the Ninja Megazord through a building and it's extremely obvious the Megazord is a model (or perhaps even the figurine) being launched through it.
    • Also on the topic of the CGI, Hornitor can be seen on the animation program's grid instead of the streets of Angel Grove in the Ape Zord's cockpit when it jumps off the roof during the climax.
    • Scorpitron's tail can be seen on its back just moments after it's torn off by the Wolf Zord.
    • The Bear Zord loses its yellow markings when its knocked into a building by Hornitor.
    • The majority of Ivan's morphing effects look astonishingly bad as well; with a noticeable lack of physics and horrendous textures.
    • An unbroken shot of the Crane Zord zooming in to see Kimberly in the cockpit has the footage of her warped to match the space, making her look 50% wider.
  • The animatronics used for Goldar and Mordant's heads, as well as the skeleton that attacks the Rangers on Phaedos are rather poor as well. In fact, you can see a wire holding up the tail of the skeleton in one scene.
  • During the skeleton fight, when Tommy is on the monster's back as it thrashes about, trying to shake him off, the camera follows the skeleton back and forth. At one point the camera actually reveals a crewman standing there watching the scene unfold.
  • The command center rebuilding itself is quite obviously all the Trash the Set shots played back in reverse.
• Tear Dryer: The rangers return to the command centre too late to save Zordon. They grieve until Tommy reminds them that they can use the Great Power to revive him and restore the command centre.
• They Changed It, Now It Sucks!: A few fans express annoyance that Tommy calls out "White Tiger" during the morphing sequence, rather than "Tiger Zord" as in the series.
• Took the Bad Film Seriously:
  • Paul Freeman is having a blast as a cartoon villain, overshadowing everyone else in the film through strength of personality.
  • Amy Jo Johnson and Johnny Yong Bosch turn in very spirited performances, bringing some nuance next to the more heroic performances of the rest of the Rangers. Tellingly, out of all the cast members, they've had the most success since leaving the series.
  • Gabrielle Fitzpatrick makes you believe she is indeed a fearsome warrior and The Mentor to the heroes, all while fighting in a Chainmail Bikini and talking about animal spirits.
• Woolseyism:
  • Since The Brady Bunch is not remembered as much as other sitcoms in Italy, the Italian dub has Ivan Ooze complaining he missed The Addams Family instead. Similary, the european-spanish dub also changes it to make Ivan complain he missed the 70's.
  • The Brazillian dub changes it into "the Miss Universe contest".
• WTH, Costuming Department?: Mild example but Rocky for some reason gives himself a curtains hairstyle that almost looks like a parody of '90s Hair (by contrast, Adam actually suits the same style). Understandably, by Power Rangers Zeo, he had cut it much shorter.

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